Friday, 27 March 2015

The Magic of Harry Potter

Like many people in my generation, magic was brought into my
life through the words of J. K. Rowling. Before I discovered Harry Potter, reading was not the huge
part of my life that it is now. In fact, reading anything was pretty much a
chore for me. I’d dread the hour-long library session in school, when I’d have
to select a new book to read every few weeks. I didn’t want to read a book. I
never had the desire to finish a book. Until the day I picked up Harry Potter.

Something about the wizarding world made me desperate to read
my way to the end of a story for the first time. And since then, literature has
changed my life. It’s changed the way I think. I often find myself wondering
exactly what is was about Harry Potter that
managed to connect with me in a way no other story had before. What is it about
words on the page that keeps us reading late into the night?

Hogwarts providing a home for Harry when he felt like he had
nowhere else is one of the touching aspects of the story. To me, it sends out a
message that there is always a place you can belong, even when it seems
impossible. The entire series’ reminds us to have hope when there is none. Without
even knowing it, Harry Potter and
many other children’s books like it can send messages of courage and strength without
us even realising, shaping the minds of our younger selves.

There’s no doubt that stories are a powerful force, and authors
have the ability to get messages across through the power of the written word,
and language plays a vital part in sharing literature with the world.

Harry Potter is a
story that is lucky enough to have been translated beautifully into over sixty
different languages. Good translation is the key to sharing stories accurately.
With the millions of fans all over the world, it’s clear that the magic of Harry Potter wasn’t lost in translation.
I’m willing to bet there are some stories that weren’t as lucky.

This is a prime example of why good translation is
important. There are so many widely popular YA series’, such as The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments, that have become
a global success by being translated into so many languages. Stories are no
longer limited to their place of original publication, and it helps residents
in countries all over the world feel like they are truly able to immerse
themselves in those stories.

As a blogger, I love getting to see readers from all corners
of the globe have a chance to bond over the same books. We get to learn so much
from reading stories set in other parts of the world. Even though Harry Potter is fictional, and the
character lives’ are highly different to our own, it still manages to share
British culture with the rest if the world.

Translation helps everyone feel a part of something
collectively by stopping the limitations of location. It’s why translation software is important,
helping to spread information globally. It’s exciting to think that we are
getting closer to living in a world which isn’t limited by language barriers,
because magical stories demand to be shared with as many different people as
possible.